By the 1950’s, the original Morse School had fallen into disrepair and
could no longer meet the standards set by the school committee. The city
obtained land between Memorial Drive and Granite Street from the
Metropolitan District Commission, clearing tennis courts and swing sets,
to make way for the new construction.
Carl Koch and Associates
of Worcester, in collaboration with The Architects Collaborative of
Cambridge, designed the new Morse School. With its one story, modular,
glass-walled design, the plan embodied the new aesthetic of the Bauhaus
movement.
When
the school was dedicated in June 1957, the school committee published
an accompanying pamphlet. In it, the author describes the overall
concept for the building: “to make the child want to come to school and
provide an environment in which learning can be a happy experience.”
Koch divided the school into four wings, grouping children by age. “The
buildings were kept low to be in scale with the children using them.
Bright durable colors were employed to to add cheerfulness, both inside
and out, but only where they would not distract from the learning
process.”
The core of the building was designed for evening and
weekend use as a community center. From the wide lobby, visitors could
easily access both the cafeteria and auditorium. A large gym (70 feet
by 90 feet) contained not only a regulation size basketball court, but
also an oak backboard for practicing handball and tennis, and markings
on the floor for badminton, volleyball, baseball, deck tennis, and
shuffleboard.
The school boasted a fully appointed shop in which
boys could learn cabinetry and metal- working. Equipment included a
drill press, jigsaw, two lathes and soldering bench. A homemaking room
abutted the courtyard. Sunlight flooded in through the floor to ceiling
windows, enabling girls to easily see handwork projects. Girls learned
how to cook on both electric and gas ranges, and could inspect clothes
they had sewn in a three-paneled mirror. Each classroom had ample
storage space for books and coats. Chalkboards, bulletin boards and map
rails were all moveable, enabling each teacher to arrange his or her
room in a unique manner. Natural light entered classrooms from both
large windows and plastic bubble shaped “skydomes” in the ceilings. A
state-of-the-art electrical cabinet in each classroom housed a
telephone, program bells, intercom, clock and, perhaps most impressive
of all, a 21-inch television.
When WGBH-TV began broadcasting
“in-school television” less then a year after the Morse School (at
Granite St.) opened, Morse students were ready to tune in. On March 29,
1958, the Boston Daily Globe reported that WGBH had aired its first
thirty-minute school program, hosted by staff from the Museum of
Science. Illustrating the piece with photographs of the Morse 6th
grader, Philip Heyward watching the show.
Learn More
The Original Morse School, 1891 - 1956
The Morse School Gets Renovated 1999
Artwork Found Within the Walls for Morse School